Last Gasp Win for Tigers
Posted 18/07/06

Sheffield were always going to be formidable opponents and the Yorkshire Tigers certainly showed last night just why they are amongst the teams being talked about as challengers for the title. Glasgow had to battle all the way against a good side and it took a late comeback spurred on by the use of the dreaded Tactical Substitute to secure victory for the home side.

Sheffield's Ben Wilson always goes round Ashfield well and in the opening race out gated Danny Bird. Danny used the cut inside on the second bend though to pass Wilson. The youngster did however keep the pressure up on Danny for the first two laps until he went too wide on the second bend and it was all over. David unfortunately was rooted at the back.

Two five-ones followed, both from the gate although in very different ways. Robert and James gated well in heat 2, Robert pulled clear and James held on well for 3 laps under pressure from Cooper before James too pulled clear. Sadly for Glasgow, heat 3 gave the fast gating Sheffield pairing of Sanchez and Legault a 1-5 that they made look very easy with no real challenge.

Dodgy decisions and Andre Compton seem to go together at Ashfield and this was emphasised in heat 4 when Parker and Cockle gated, James getting the better of Compton, blocking him. With the riders on the second bend, the referee put on the red stop lights and gave an unsatisfactory start. Andre was not going to get caught out again, gating alongside Shane in the re run with Cockle behind. Shane got his nose in front coming out of bend 2 and it was race over.

Ben Wilson and Ricky Ashworth came out in heat 5 and gave Sheffield the lead in the meeting with another comfortable 1-5 from the gate with Dicken and Nieminen again well beaten.

An electric gate from Danny Bird in heat 6 gave him victory from the tapes although David McAllan completely missed the gate. David passed up the inside of Paul Cooper on the fourth bend of the opening lap as if he were not there and the heat advantage brought the scores back level.

From the gate seemed to be the order of the day for the next few heats. Shane Parker made the gate in heat 7 and tried his usual move to leave a gap for partner Robert Ksiezak but Robert was unable to take advantage and finished at the back. The impressive Ben Wilson won heat 8 comfortably from the gate with James Cockle and David McAllan slotting in behind to share the spoils.

It was Andre Compton's turn in heat 9 to win from the tapes. Kauko looked a bit more his old self as he claimed second place but the action was at the back for third place. Paul Cooper had outgated Lee Dicken and although Lee looked quicker and spent the majority of the race on Coopers back wheel he was unable to find a way through and Sheffield were able to open up the two point lead again.

In recent meetings, David McAllan seemed to have problems with heat 10 but this week the curse spread to Danny Bird. In a very hard but fair opening couple of bends, Emiliano Sanchez took Danny out to the boards and pulled ahead. Danny gave chase and went for the outside swoop on bends three and four but took it too wide, clipped the fence and performed miracles to stay on his bike. However, the damage was done, Sanchez was well clear, followed by Legault and McAllan with Danny left in an unfamiliar 4th place.

Things were to go from bad to worse for Glasgow in heat 11 although some of the more cynical visitors on the backstraight wondered if it was manufactured to allow a TS in the next race. It seems a bit of an injustice however to take away from the riding of Ashworth in particular and Wilson in the heat. Both made an excellent gate and although Shane was able to get past Wilson on the second bend, Ashworth rode an excellent line to become one of the few riders to beat Shane round his own track in the league this season.

It did however open the opportunity to use the Tactical Substitute from 15m in the following heat and Shane Parker was the rider entrusted with the black and white helmet colour at the expense of Lee Dicken. Paul Cooper left the Glasgow fans worrying when he gated ahead of James Cockle but a lovely outside swoop on the second bend took James Cockle into the lead. Shane caught up very quickly but it looked as if the team riding Sheffield pairing may hold him at bay-until the third lap. Having momentarily passed Legault, Shane found himself at the back again going into the third bend, when he opened the throttle and made an absolutely stunning outside pass of all three riders. It was yet another superb example of top class riding from the Glasgow captain who has by now been described by almost all the superlatives in the dictionary this season. On coming back to the pits, James Cockle's comment-paraphrased for family viewing!- was along the lines of 'how on earth did he get through there, gave me the fright of my life'.

It certainly restored Glasgow's faith and hopes were high when Danny Bird and Shane Parker hit the front on the opening bends of heat 13. However, Andre Compton came off and with a suspicion that there may have been slight contact between him and Shane the referee called all four back. As with heat four Andre was not going to get caught out twice running and made a good gate in the re-run and showed great determination to ensure he came out of the second bend in the lead, going on to inflict a rare heat 13 defeat on the Glasgow pairing.

With Sheffield still one point ahead heat 14 was going to be important. Both teams made changes, Sheffield bringing Cooper in for Thompson, Stewart bringing in James Cockle for Robert Ksiezak and spending quite a bit of time at the pit gate with him winding him up for the race ahead. It certainly worked as James made the all important gate, rode hard with Cooper on the opening bends allowing Kauko to take advantage and come round the outside and into the lead. With Kauko extending his lead all the time, James worked very hard at keeping both Sheffield riders behind him. Sanchez finally got the better of the Glasgow youngster at the end of the second lap and there was then a very tough contest between the two reserves for third spot. At the end of the third lap, with Cooper looking poised to go round the outside of Cockle, James shut him off with some very hard riding. Contact was made and Cooper had to shut off allowing Cockle to pull clear for the final lap. It was very hard riding and if we are fair some referees may have called it differently. However James did the job asked of him superbly and showed the grit that has been missing of late. Words were exchanged between Cockle and Cooper at the end of the race and in the pits but it was no more than a discussion and the riders sportingly shook hands afterwards.

It lined up a last heat decider with Glasgow now only one point ahead and the atmosphere was electric. Both Sheffield riders, Compton and Ashworth, had already recorded victories against the Glasgow top two and it was anticipated that it was going to be a very hard and competitive heat. In reality though, that did not happen. Shane and Danny hit the front from the gate and the only incident of any note was when Ashworth spoiled an otherwise impressive display by laying his bike down whilst at the back for no apparent reason at the start of the third lap. It took away the anticipated celebration of the Glasgow Tigers pairing crossing the finishing line but made absolutely no difference to the result as referee Stewart Wilson correctly awarded the race.

Full credit should be given to Sheffield for their performance on the night. Glasgow may have had better individuals but Sheffield were the best team on the night and provided some good entertainment. They will feel very unlucky to have gone away empty handed and certainly showed why they are very much in the running for the Premier League title.

Glasgow will breath a sigh of relief after this one. With David, Lee and Robert struggling and Kauko most definitely affected by the traveling of the last few days it was a very important victory. It has to be said that it speaks volumes for the character of this team and management that they were able to keep things going and claw their way back into the meeting after going 8 points down. In previous seasons, that just would not have happened.

Tiger Performance Points:-
(based on expectations)

R003